Archives For The Truman Show

When we get into a discussion of our favourite films, it’s very easy for certain films to get lost in the shuffle. Depending on how we approach films we might tend to give higher consideration to more established classics, or newer films that are more fresh in our minds, or even more eclectic choices that will distinguish our lists from all the others out there. And then there’s the fact that we film nuts have just watched way too much; we’re bound to forget some films.

In putting together this Top 20 Essentials list I could have easily put in ten Pixar films and another ten Disney animated films. Over and done with. But that would defeat the purpose of such a list in my eyes. You see, I’m not merely offering up the 20 best films I’ve seen, I’m presenting a list with variety. When you look through my offerings you should be able to get a good idea of my taste for film.

In my last entry I had Apocalypse Now sitting next to Back to the Future and Vertigo. That alone is a pretty good representation of my taste, but all my choices were firmly entrenched in the “canon”. They are films that might not appear on every list, but they are all very common. Of those five films, only Close Encounters of the Third Kind seems to have become more commonly ignored in favour of other Spielberg films like E.T., Schindler’s List, Jaws, Raiders, Jurassic Park and even Saving Private Ryan. Still, it’s pretty established.

So in my #6-10 I am going to give you five films that, while not necessarily eclectic on their own, are definitely very personal and not very common in the lists I’ve seen.